If Ramirez gets subbed in this game, how many times has he completed 90mins for either club or country since Sept?
Martin Keown, BBC Sport Uruguay 4-0 Tahiti "Gaston Ramirez has been disappointing because he's had a chance to stake a claim for the rest of the competition and he's just floating around on the edge of the game."
Gaston doesn't demand the ball enough from his teammates. This is the sort of game to do exactly that and enjoy himself, but he still looks too timid a player for me at times. Perhaps he's just a bit too "nice" and needs more of an "edge" to his play, otherwise, I fear he'll be someone who never fullfills his potential. Oh, he's just been subbed and didn't look at all bothered. Sigh.
Ramirez always seems to push up too high and makes the gap between the opposition's defence and midfield smaller than it should be. He also doesn't show for the ball enough and he is often marked or crowded out by his own doing as a result. He really needs to learn to position himself better.
If an Italian side offered us anywhere close to what we paid for him, I'd snap their hands off right now.
I thought Hernandez was selfish taking the penalty having already scored a hat-trick. Unless the others wanted him to take it.
So the group stage is now over and the semi-final fixtures have been confirmed. There's an all South American semi between Brazil and Uruguay and an all European semi between Spain and Italy. At this stage, most people expect to see a Brazil v Spain final but international competitions have always been known to throw an upset into the mix somewhere along the way. However, I think it would take something very special from the Italians and Uruguayans to see them progress any further in this tournament. Special mention must be made to the massive underdogs, Tahiti who finish the tournament bottom of their group with a truly awful goal difference. However, they never once looked dour and it was humbling to see the pride they had when playing for their country. A fantastic experience for those players and the nation itself, they are a real inspiration to all underdogs, and in their case it really isn't all about winning. They've done themselves proud so fair play to them. As for the two Saints. Well mixed emotions for both our Maya and Gaston really. Yoshida can be reasonably proud of his individual performances in this tournament, however this will no doubt be out-weighed by the disappointment of an early exit for his side, Japan - especially having lost all three of their group matches. No doubt, this has been a valuable experience for him and we will welcome him back in July after a well earned break. For Ramirez, i'm sure his feelings are quite the opposite. No doubt, he'll be pleased that Uruguay have progressed to the knock-out stages and have set themselves up with a tasty tie against the hosts, Brazil. However, his own individual performances have been nothing to write home about. He failed to make an impact against the Spaniards (as did most of his team-mates), didn't feature at all against Nigeria, and was once again disappointing against Tahiti. For whatever reason, Gaston just hasn't got into this tournament. Whether it's Uruguay's tactics that don't suit him or whether it's down to a lack of fitness, or if his carrying an injury, we just don't know. All we can hope for, is that when the tournament finishes and his had a good, long break, he can link up with the Saints squad and bring-back some of that form and good play we saw him produce last season. Here's hoping!
Am I really the only person that thinks it's an absolute joke to have a team that just has no competency to compete at this level in the tournament? Sentiment and football for all is one thing, but personally I thought it was a pointless exercise them being in the tournament. I didn't find watching them humbling, I found it comical; it was a bit like watching Benny Hill give a coaching session on "How to defend." This is the greatest game in the world, not a charity.
Or maybe he's not good enough! Over to you fatletiss. No, ignore it. I can't stand the thought of another Ramirez debate (Lets talk about Fox instead)
They shouldn't have been there and it devalues the tournament, but they earned my respect with their approach and attitude.
They qualified fair and square. This tournament is for the winners of the six continental tounaments, plus wold champions and world cup hosts. So unless you say that Oceania doesn't count as a continent, then Tahiti deserve their place. And if you get rid of Oceania (which may be a valid argument), who do you include instead? At the end of the day, it ain't gonna happen. It's countries like Tahiti that hold the power in FIFA, so Blatter ain't gonna piss them off.
